Dear single friends. The days of Tinder shaming are over. It’s official. Tinder is a life changing tool that enables us to meet people with the knowledge that you might share an interest in each other, without having to approach the potential rejection conversation in a bar. When tindering, it’s important that you follow some kind of etiquette in order to get the best out of the app. For example, you should pick your images in a way that expresses to fellow swipers what’s in store for them. There’s a certain formula for your personal image gallery – photos holding a big fish show strength. If you’ve been to a festival, make sure to include the picture of yourself with the most glitter on.
Choices
You need to choose the picture that really expresses you as the person you want to be known as. If you’ve got wash board abs and ride a horse, don’t be afraid to say to the world “I’m ripped and I ride a horse”. Alternatively, if you feel like you’re over tinder but still haven’t found love, show off your ‘post-tinder’ creativity with post-it note messages, or simply show the back of your head at an art gallery. A picture speaks a thousand words.
Consistency
If you’ve started collecting matches, you’re probably looking to nail down the perfect one liner. Tindering takes time: not everyone you match will respond. Most will lose interest within 40 minutes of first thinking you were their dream match. Choose a [safe] opener and run with it.
Emojis
If you find yourself lost for words/ bored of the same old monotonous conversation, don’t give up! The emoji keyboard is on your side and will inspire creativity. Don’t overthink – a ‘random’ emoji is sure to give the impression that you’re a quirky guy or gal.
Be brave
Openness and bravery will reward you well on Tinder. Most people will bore easily of the relentless “hey how’s you” chat. Say what you mean. Open up the idea of a hiking date, start talking about goats, or, you know, propose.
Keep it short
Get straight to the point. The most fatal tinder error is talking for too long. Sure, it’s easy to convince yourself of reasons not to meet your prospective partner now, because it’s always an option – in theory. The reality is, conversations will end at some point. Just like that, the dream partner will be whisked away from you before you even manage to meet, before you can say ‘coffee? lol’. Feel for a vibe and meet within a week.
Be nice
The overarching, often forgotten, rule of thumb when it comes to tindering is… being nice. Certainly, one will sand off the edges of a profile, filling in the gaps of a person’s character with imagination as if the cyber-friend isn’t actually real yet. But word of warning – these are humans investing (granted, sometimes a little too much) emotion into other humans. So be nice.
Happy tindering!
